Food Ideas for 18 Month Old - Lafayette,CO

I think it's pretty natural for toddlers to go through these phases. Some days I'm surprised my son's not famished, the little amounts he eats (even of his usual favorites). We always have fed him what we're eating, with small modifications. He's still not big on salad at almost 3yrs, so we give him the cucumbers with dip. When he was a baby, we pureed all his meals out of what we planned for the week and froze it in ice cube trays. If your son likes solids, but can't chew tough foods you may give this a try. Just throw what you're eating (ex: stew, chicken & rice, spaghetti) in a blender for a couple of seconds. If he wants to feed himself noodles are usually lots of fun, and you can blend veggies into various flavors of sauce to make sure he's getting balanced meals. Good luck!

Mesh Feeders (sold in a two pack at places like Walmart, and Target) and let him have raw fruits and vegetables in those.
They also work great for the molar teething (put either an ice cube or piece of frozen fruit in one and happy kid-at least in my house).
Quesadillas are another easy to fix idea, hamburger crumbles really easy too.

T.

I think at this age they like the foods that are "portable"-(finger foods )because they don't want to slow down to eat.They also go through stages where they don't eat alot so the trick is to let them get hungry-run them around-lot's of exercise-it will rev up the appetite and they will be less prone to pickiness.Funny food is also appealing like making faces on the sandwich with raisans or cute ideas like that then ask them to bite the nose off then the other parts-it may sound strange but they love stuff like that and think it very funny. Don't make it a tug of war or unpleasant or he'll probably just fight it more. Mulivitamins. ;-)
Best to you,
L.

Just keep trying lots of different foods, and different combinations. For a while, I could only get my son to eat green beans when mixed with plain yogurt. He doesn't like Cheerios so much, but he likes corn flakes and bran flakes especially after they've soaked in milk for a bit. Have you tried sauces with rice, gravy mixed with potatoes? My husband has balked at some concoctions I've come up with, but if my boy will eat a mixture of spaghetti, cottage cheese, tuna, and peas, I'll feed it to him!

Keep offering him a variety, even when you know he won't eat it, especially with the fruits and veggies. This is just a phase and he eventually will eat these items. I see so many parents give up too easily! As for the food ideas, there are TONS of posts just like yours on this site. I myself have posted this several times (comes off the www. You can do a little research yourself):

• Try applesauce as a dip for cheese cubes
• Serve pureed bananas as French toast dip.
• Serve pureed fruit with pancakes/waffles
• Serve diced pears with cereal rings.
• Stir pureed plums into plain yogurt.
• Mix pureed carrots into scrambled eggs.
• Stir spinach into spaghetti sauce.
• Top plain cooked pasta with pureed peas.
• Mix diced green beans into mashed potatoes.
• Stir soft, bite-sized veggies into Mac n’ cheese.
• Shred and apple on top of a waffle.
• Stir deiced peaches into hot cereal.
• Top a baked potato with any pureed baby food.
Keep in mind most children like:
• Mildly flavored
• Slightly cooked
• Crunchy
• Bright colors (add food coloring)
• Easy to eat (size)
• Warm vs. hot
• Small portions
• Dipping sauces (cheese, yogurt, salsa, fruit puree, soy sauce, ranch dressing etc.)

PROTEIN RICH FOODS
Cheese : strips/squares of soft cheese (American, Gouda, Jack, Cheddar, etc.)
• ricotta or cottage cheese (mix with fruit) string cheese, cream cheese & jelly
• Yogurt: custard style, whole milk (4% fat), yogurt, frozen - add cream
Meat:
• salami, turkey
• ham strips (wrap around cheese/cream cheese)
• liverwurst, sausage
• chicken pieces (wrap in crisp bacon, moisten with gravy or broth)
• small meatballs
• ravioli
• macaroni & cheese- add cream

Fish:
• tuna (packed in oil) mixed with mayo
• fish sticks &. tartar sauce
Eggs:
• deviled (mix mayo into yoke of hard-boiled egg)
• scrambled with cheese or cream cheese
Misc.:
• tofu (stir fry cubes in peanut oil), peanut sauce or
• tahini (sesame seed paste) for dipping
• refried beans mashed with sour cream and cheese
• grilled cheese sandwich with mayo on inside and margarine/butter on outside of bread, cut into small triangles
FRUIT & VEGETABLES
• Banana- slices, mix with peanut butter or non-dairy whipped cream
• Avocado- slices, mix with mayo and lemon
• Papaya- mashed, whipped cream
• Fruit- canned, chunks, roll in Graham cracker crumbs!
• Squash- pumpkin or squash squares, bake with butter & brown sugar, season with nutmeg
• Vegetables: any vegetable cooked with sour cream, gravy or added cheese, cheese sauce
STARCH
• Potato : French fries, tator tots, mashed potatoes with butter, gravy or sour cream
• Noodles: Ramen type soups - - add scrambled egg, meat chunks, or vegetables
pasta with butter and parmesan cheese
• macaroni & cheese
• Crackers: Graham, saltines, Waverly -- top with cream cheese & jelly or thinned
peanut butter & jelly, cheese

I just slip veggies into all the toddler favs. I put tomatoes and avocadoes in grilled cheese, small pieces of bell pepper in meatballs, broccoli in mac and cheese. My kids eat a lot of "hidden" things that they wouldn't eat on their own. Another good thing to do is to cook chicken, veggies, and rice in the crock pot. I just switch up the sauce and veggies. They'll eat anything when it is mixed together in a yummy sauce!

Kids definitely do go in and out of "eating phases" - my son used to eat double what most of his friends would, but seems to have leveled out, gotten pickier, and just not needed as much anymore. Some different ideas that work in our house:

-cottage cheese (sometimes with blueberries or small diced strawberries)
-oatmeal - I add raisins or other dried fruit while it's cooking so the fruit softens up (not instant - the 'old fashioned' kind that takes 5 min. to cook and has more texture)
-beans! sometimes just straight out of the can (rinsed) - black beans, pinto, kidney, etc. You can add a little cumin or other spice if you think they're too boring. My son also likes them mixed with rice.
- peanut butter & jelly ... old standby, of course, but it was at about 18 months that my son started eating it
- olives (green or black)
- hot dogs (smiths in SLC now has a nitrate-free version called Bistro)
- pizza (you can make it yourself for a healthier version)
-applesauce (also super-easy to make yourself)

My son won't eat mashed or sweet potatoes either, which I think is weird...he actually gags on sweet potatoes! Oh well.